There is known in the existing art a species of paper machine clothings for use in a paper machine, in which a support fabric comprising two woven support plies is present; the support plies are not, however, being connected to one another via their surface by yarns. At the front ends of the paper machine clothing, the support plies are connected via their longitudinal yarns to form seam loops. By way of these seam loops, the ends can be coupled by the fact that the seam loops of the two ends are made to overlap and a so-called pintle wire is slid through the seam loops in the overlap region. Such paper machine clothings may be inferred, for example, from WO 00/09802 and JP 112 00 275.
A method suitable for manufacturing paper machine clothings of this kind is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,220. In this method, a single-ply support fabric is circular-loom woven, specifically with a circumference that is twice as great as the intended length of the paper machine clothing, and is then equipped with a needled-on fiber batt. The tubular structure thus obtained is then pressed together so that two superimposed plies are produced. By fringing at the front ends, seam loops are exposed from the longitudinal yarns present there and can be overlapped in order to connect the ends.
Because of the particular support construction, such paper machine clothings offer high strength, in particular also in the seam region, since the seam loops are constituted by longitudinal yarns extending endlessly over the support plies. This support construction is furthermore characterized by low compressibility as compared with double-ply supports, with the consequence that dewatering properties remain largely constant over the service life of the paper machine clothings. The unsatisfactory stability in the seam region is, however, disadvantageous. In addition, fiber batt anchoring in that region is not optimal.